Guadalupe Campanur Tapia (1986 - January 16, 2018) was an indigenous Mexican environmental rights activist. She was one of the indigenous leaders of Cherán who mobilize the population to defend he forest against illegal logging. In 2018, she was remembered by the UN Women.[1][2][3]
Biography
editShe was born in Cherán, Michoacán in 1986. People who have met her described her as a joyful person, intelligent, proactive, brave, free, and committed with her community. She was a young activist that fought for the restitution of the territory in Cherán. Her work for the elderlies, children, and labourers made her an important figure in her community.[2][4]
She was the first woman to become a forest ranger in Michoacán and was one of the founders of Ronda Comunitaria, a group with the aim of protecting the community and the forest through different activities such as workshop fr te protection of the environment.[5][6]
In 2011, she was among the indigenous leaders that raised awareness and mobilize the people to protect their forests against illegal logging and she actively participated in the security team by patrolling local forests. They fought against violence and impunity of organized crime in the region.[6]
Her activism helped to remove the local government and created their own governmental system. With this, Cherán became the only town in Mexico self-governed. Though the participation of the locals they decided how to protect themselves and their forests. They created basic government instances, and institute rounds to protect the security of the population and of the forest.[7][8]
Death
editShe was killed in Chilchota, Michocán, Mexico, on January 16, 2018. Her body was found in the road of the Meseta Purépecha between kilometers 15 and 16 of the road Carapan-Paracho and showed evidence of sexual torture and strangulation. According to forensic medicine specialists the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation by strangulation, and revealed that the killing occurred between 26 and 48 hours prior to founding the body.[4][7][9]
Through a press release the prosecution informed that they did not receive a missing persons report on Guadalupe. They also informed that they were not certain that her death was related with her activism.[10]
Two days after her death, Carolina Lunuen, friend of Guadalupe, expressed herself about the case:[11]
This can be interpreted as a message to intimidate and silence all of us who genuinely fight for life through actions that go further from resistance. It is also a way to terrorize women...
Her death triggered a series of protests demanding gender justice against the femicides in the community of Cherán.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Environmental Defender Guadalupe Campanur Tapia Murdered in Mexico". Cultural Survival. February 16, 2018. pp. News & Articles. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ a b "Guadalupe Campanur Tapia". AWID. November 6, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ Ford, Liz (November 29, 2018). "Women's rights take centre stage as murdered activists are remembered". The Guardian. pp. Global Development. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ a b Hernández, Hortensia (January 20, 2019). "Guadalupe Campanur Tapia activista y defensora de los bosques en Michoacán". Heroínas. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Centro Nacional De Comunicación Social (January 23, 2018). "Defensora de los bosques de 32 años asesinada en Michoacán". ifex (in Spanish). pp. Artículos. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ a b UN Women (January 25, 2018). "La ONU en México pide justicia por el asesinato de la defensora indígena Guadalupe Campanur". Noticias ONU (in Spanish). Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Márquez, Carolina (January 26, 2018). "Asesinato de Guadalupe Campanur debe ser investigado como feminicidio: ONU". desInformémonos (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Della Coletta, Ricardo (January 19, 2018). "Un feminicidio abre viejas heridas en Cherán, icono del autogobierno en México". El País (in Spanish). pp. America: Mexico. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Arrieta, Carlos (January 19, 2018). "Asesinan a activista indígena de Michoacán". El Universal (in Spanish). Morelia, Michoacán. pp. Estados. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ Della Coletta, Ricardo (January 19, 2018). "Guadalupe Campanur Tapia: Asesinada una activista en una zona indígena de Michoacán". El Piñero (in Spanish). Michoacán. pp. Portada. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ "México: Guadalupe Campanur, defensora del medio ambiente en la comunidad de Cherán asesinada". Animal Político (in Spanish). Mexico. January 21, 2018. pp. Últimas Noticias. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Ibarra Rojas, Lucero; Rojas Guardián, Rocelia; Tapia Fabián, Guillermina; Torres Ascencio, Yunuen (2020). "La Demanda Por Justicia De Género En Una Autonomía Indígena: Las Mujeres De Cherán Contra El Feminicidio (The Demand for Gender Justice in an Indigenous Autonomous Community: Cherán's Women Against Feminicide)". Social Science Research Network (6). Rochester, NY: 139–166. SSRN 3878940.
- ^ De León, Flor (January 18, 2018). "Piden justicia por Guadalupe Campanur, activista de Cherán localizada sin vida". sdp noticias. Mexico. pp. Ediciones Locales. Retrieved March 14, 2023.